NFL Thinking About Taking Away PATs

The NFL as we know it could be changing a bit, and I'm sure it will be met with a huge amount of debate.

Roger Goodell went on NFL Network and said that he is looking into taking away the point-after-touchdown (PAT) as they are too "automatic."

Well, he has a point. Only five PAT attempts were missed this season. For most kickers, it is a chip shot from just 20 yards out. I don't think many people would be completely against changing that.

His new idea that was drawn out on NFL Network would be to award seven points to the touchdown scoring team. The scoring team would have the option to keep the seven or risk it for a chance for eight (think two-point conversion). If the scoring team opts for the conversion and fails, they drop down to six points.

I can't imagine the players association being too thrilled about that setup. That setup, added to moving kickoffs to the 35-yard line, makes kickers job even more worthless in their eyes. Goodell mentioned that the intention is to make every play exciting in the new design, while he essentially eliminated the kickoff return a couple years ago.

I don't think they have to eliminate the PAT, but I think it could be much more difficult. How about moving the kick back to 30 yards instead of 20? Most kickers in the league were money from 20-29 yards out, but only nine kickers were perfect from 30-39 yards out in 2013. To add to the excitement, how about move the two-point conversion from two yards out to 13 yards out? This way, there is no extra benefit to going for two and that the PAT lines up for 30 yards.

Just an idea.

Then again, if Goodell wants to increase excitement on every single play, why would he want a team to score a touchdown and just walk to the sideline without anything else happening?

Seems a bit backwards.

It will be interesting to see how the competition committee views the potential changes and if they agree with Goodell. I don't find the PAT to be completely essential, but if they modify it to make it more difficult the game could get more exciting. No worries my football friends, that might not fly because of player safety.

You can follow Jerry on twitter @Jerrysworld991 or email him at Jerry@ESPN991.com